Golf prodigy Lottie Woad stuns the world by winning the Scottish Open in her first pro appearance

Lottie Woad has exploded onto the professional golf scene with a jaw-dropping victory at the Women’s Scottish Open, obliterating a field stacked with world-class talent in her very first paid start. At just 21, the English sensation delivered a nerveless 21-under-par total to crush the competition by three strokes.

Kim Hyo-joo, a major winner, trailed in second. World No.1 Nelly Korda finished five shots further back. Woad’s triumph wasn’t just a win—it was a ruthless statement of intent.

Rewind nine years, and Woad, then a highly rated footballer in Southampton’s youth academy, had a decision to make. She chose golf. On Sunday in Ayrshire, she made that decision look like destiny.

Dundonald Links wasn’t some obscure proving ground. Sanctioned by the LPGA Tour, the tournament serves as a links warm-up for the AIG Women’s Open, the final major of the season. With a $300,000 winner’s cheque on offer and four of the world’s top 10 players in the field, the pressure was immense. Woad, unfazed, tore through it.

She seized the lead with a blistering second-round 65 and held onto it with brutal consistency. Even when Kim caught her after 12 holes on Sunday, Woad responded like a veteran. Birdies at 13 and 14 reasserted her dominance. A bogey on 16 barely rattled her, and a final birdie on the par-five 18th sealed the win.

Her performance was not a one-off. Just weeks earlier, Woad had won the Irish Women’s Open as an amateur, defeating England’s No.1 Charley Hull. The week after, she came within one shot of a play-off at the Evian Championship, nearly becoming the first amateur to win a major in 58 years.

Her amateur career reads like a prophecy. She spent over a year as the world’s No.1 amateur, won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2024, and honed her skills at Florida State University. She never rushed the process. Instead of leaping early to the pro circuit, she stayed with England Golf, remained loyal to long-time coach Luke Done, and developed deliberately.

In April 2004, Women’s Open champion Karen Stupples said: “Lottie is the best golf prospect the UK has produced since Rory McIlroy.” Her putting, Stupples added, is “clutch”—the kind that separates greatness from mere promise.

Woad’s debut wasn’t just impressive—it was historic. She became only the third player ever to win on their LPGA debut. Her performance at Dundonald confirmed what insiders had already begun to suspect: a new force has entered the game.

She turned pro days before the tournament, gaining LPGA status through the Elite Amateur Pathway. By winning on debut, she now holds full status on both the LPGA and LET circuits. That $300,000 prize was her first payday—having forfeited nearly £500,000 in previous amateur wins.

From Farnham to Florida, from football boots to birdies, Woad’s rise has been meteoric. But if her Scottish debut is any indication, the story has only just begun.

As the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl looms, the world won’t underestimate her again. She’s already dismantled one world-class field. Now all eyes are on what this calm, composed, clutch machine does next.